After School
by agendersubaru
Summary: Diabolik Lovers college AU. The boys from all three families attend school together. Contains Ayato/Yui and some Sakamaki/Mukami pairings (Shu/Yuma, Reiji/Ruki).
1. Chapter 1

**(A/N: Hey there! As a writer I try not to rely on author notes too much, but since DL is a pretty complicated series with multiple routes and canons, I feel like I need to explain the context a little. I'm gonna treat this AU like the post-Dark Fate tokuten CDs - in other words, all the boys are fairly friendly with each other, but nobody ever became Adam or the Demon King or anything like that. Karl Heinz is alive and still being a creepy puppetmaster off in the background somewhere. Anyway, for this first chapter, I refer a bit to one bit of Ayato canon where he talks with Karl Heinz and basically decides that he needs to go to a university in order to get a decent job, in order to buy his own house and become independent and support his wife, Yui. Yeah Ayato and Yui are married lol. I'm obviously not gonna re-write it since it already exists in canon, but if you haven't seen it then here it is!**

 **Anyway this is a Diabolik Lovers college AU! Before you message me like "But Nat, the university's name is redundant!", I researched that shit and there are plenty of Japanese universities that end in "Gakuen University" so yeah! Also, there might be trans headcanons in this fic, and male/male relationships between Sakamakis and Mukamis, so if you can't handle those then please don't read this! Also, I'm sorry if this ends up looking more like an American university. I'm currently attending one, so…;-; Anyhow thanks so much for reading! It's okay to tell me what kind of shenanigans you guys wanna see them do too!)**

* * *

Ayato was Karl Heinz's first son to be accepted into college. It took him an unreal amount of studying time - more than he ever thought he could manage, at least - and frankly it shocked all of his brothers, especially considering the fact that he had almost no help save for Yui, and they didn't think it was possible for such an attention-hungry guy to shut himself away for so long. In any case, they were all forced to admit, at least to themselves, that Ayato wasn't the dumb brother.

Reiji had always intended on pursuing higher education, though he had always been under the impression that it wouldn't be human school anymore. Upon seeing Ayato apply for a human university, though, he changed up his plans a bit, since he could _not_ let _Ayato_ of all people get ahead of him. The two didn't communicate on which colleges they were applying to, and there weren't many colleges that allowed them to only take classes at night, so by coincidence they ended up applying to (and enrolling at) the same place - Bell Gakuen University. That was fine; it's not like they'd be seeing much of each other, anyway. They'd just have to suffer a long car ride with only each other's company, and then they'd be on their own.

Every Sakamaki was already aware of how distant they were with each other, but they became incredibly aware of that fact when Reiji and Ayato announced they were leaving in a week. They hadn't really intended on any of their brothers _leaving_ before, even after Ayato landed himself a girlfriend.

Laito had congratulated Ayato at the time, but he couldn't work out how he felt about it at all. He found himself starting to rummage through all his stuff, looking for old things from their childhood. He told himself that he was checking to make sure he didn't have any of Ayato's stuff in his room by accident, that way Ayato wouldn't miss anything when he left, but his true intentions were a little different.

He didn't have anything meaningful, or anything that Ayato could potentially take with him when he left for college, but he could find lots of stuff that reminded him of the past: old shoes from each of the triplets all lined up in the back of his closet, a drawer full of cool-looking rocks that Ayato had picked up as a child, a few t-shirts he had accidentally borrowed from Ayato that he had forgotten to give back. They didn't fit him anymore.

Laito took great care to put everything exactly back where it was, and started to rub his eyes. He left to go blow his nose, which was running partly from the dust and partly from the fact that he was getting just a little bit choked up for some reason.

But because of the strained and impersonal relationship the Sakamakis had, Laito could only show those types of nostalgic feelings in private. When it actually came time for Ayato and Reiji to leave, nobody even bothered to give any goodbyes (save for Yui, who was weeping openly). In fact, Laito wouldn't have even been alerted to the fact that they were leaving, except for Reiji pulled him aside to give him a few cooking resources before he left.

And from then on, the Sakamaki house got a little bit quieter.

At college, Reiji and Ayato both got one-person dorms. Reiji, as per his usual interests, majored in chemistry while Ayato went in undeclared. Reiji, who already had lots of experience studying and cooking for himself, was able to adapt quickly to college life. Even as a freshman he was getting involved in extracurricular activities like the debate team, and he had proven himself to be a leader amongst his peers. Reiji didn't have many friends, but since he was so focused on his work, he was doing fine. Contacting his brothers would have just stressed him out, so he refrained from doing so. He would have been all right if he had never seen them again.

College suited Ayato a lot better than high school did. His teachers never nagged him if he put his head down in class, and there was much less mandatory in-class participation (which scared him to death in high school), and if he was feeling overwhelmed and needed to skip class then nobody would bother him about it. He did struggle, though; learning off of textbooks was not his forte at all, and he didn't exactly have anyone who could teach him face-to-face. Still, he worked hard and got into the rhythm of things after a while, and ended up being a straight-B student. The academics weren't the thing that Ayato struggled with the most, though.

Even if he hadn't had the best relationship with his brothers, Ayato got _painfully_ homesick within the first few weeks. Not just for Yui, who he admittedly missed like hell, but for his brothers too. He had picked up a bizarre new habit of talking to himself as he worked, just to give himself the illusion of some verbal interaction. He didn't even notice he was homesick till he was mumbling his way through some math equations one morning, when the sun was just starting to rise, and he asked out loud "Did the professor go over this?" and he looked up at some imaginary person that wasn't really there, expecting an answer. He realized how stupid he looked, and decided to take a break, but as it turns out he couldn't find the energy to try again for the rest of the day. He had realized how lonely he was, and he felt lethargic and he wanted to go home.

Fortunately for his GPA, he was able to get back to work the next day, but that lonely feeling didn't disappear. Everything seemed to remind him of either his brothers or Yui. He would fantasize about showing his brothers around campus, and how cool and smart he would look. He'd pass by a stall selling crepes and think that if Kanato were here, he could use his meal card to buy one for him, and Kanato would be like, "Wow, Ayato, you're so generous!" Haha…

Of course he missed Yui the most. Sleeping in a bed alone was torture, after spending so long in bed with her. He didn't realize how much he had been relying on her. And yet he couldn't bring himself to call her - he was sure that if he heard her voice, he would immediately pick up and go home. And he was supposed to be doing this for her. So he stopped himself from contacting her entirely.

But at this point, he was even praying that he would run into Reiji by chance. Imagine that! Ayato was actually hoping to see Reiji! If his past self could see him now, he'd be shocked!

The semester was halfway over and midterms were rolling around. Ayato's depressive mood was affecting his grades, which was only making him more depressed. He was even raising his hand in his classes as a last-resort effort to get himself _some_ kind of attention. Studying for midterms was near impossible because Ayato just couldn't pay attention anymore, and by the time he got his test results back, he was seriously considering dropping out before the semester was even over. He wanted to forget about getting a degree and a job and a house, he wanted to go _home_.

So he finally swallowed his pride enough to call them - not Yui, because he couldn't handle that, but one of his brothers. A phone call was normal, right? Visiting home halfway through the semester was embarrassing, but Ayato could at least call them. He could call Laito, if anyone - Laito would always talk to him before.

Ayato was feeling sort of like a little kid whose mom had left him at the grocery store, so if Laito didn't pick up, Ayato might've started crying - that's how stressed he was at this point. Luckily, Laito did pick up, and he started talking right off the bat.

"Ayato! You took way too long to call, I thought you'd at least check in after a week or two! It's been soooo quiet without you! You didn't forget anything, did you? Hey, hey, did you meet any cute sorority girls? Are you going to some crazy parties? That's no good, Ayato, you gotta stay focused on your studies!"

Before Ayato could respond, he heard a few other familiar voices conversing in the background. Kanato's familiar over-emotional voice, Shu's deep disinterested drawl, Subaru's rough gravelly tone...and Yui's voice too. Laito pulled away from the phone to tell them to quiet down, and "let me talk to him first", before returning to barraging Ayato with questions.

"...And what are you studying? You didn't even tell us that! The others want to know too! ...Ah, Kanato wants to know what the food is like there! Oh, but are you doing all right on your own? Do you miss us~?"

That last question was clearly intended as a joke, but Ayato couldn't help but take it too seriously. He gulped, before responding shakily, "Of course not. Who would miss you?"

Laito laughed it off, since that was the reaction he had expected. "Well we all miss you! Especially poor Bitch-chan...You were totally blowing her off, you know?"

"Wha-?!"

"It's okay, it's okay! She's been so sweet about it, she just keeps saying, 'Oh, he's probably busy! Ayato probably wants to focus on school! He's working so hard!' and stuff like that. Even though she was definitely lonely. Haha, it's like you have your own little cheerleader~"

Ayato swallowed hard. "...I…" He couldn't figure out where to start.

After a moment of silence, Laito spoke up again. His voice was a little softer now. "We all miss you, though. When are you coming to visit?"

"Laito," Ayato spluttered. "Rather than that, you should come here."

"Eh? You want us to come out and visit your school?"

"No! Well, sure - but, that is, you should apply!"

"...Hah?"

Ayato was talking almost too fast for Laito to understand. "You and Kanato should both apply. We've been together since birth right? And well of course I'm fine on my own but wouldn't it be much better if you applied too? Especially since I think you'd like it here and when I'm rich and famous I want to be able to say that my brothers are successful too, so, so…" He wasn't entirely sure where he was going with that.

When Ayato's voice trailed off, Laito started to laugh. His voice sounded off, and it cracked a little bit. "You...You're ridiculous!"

"Does that mean you won't?"

"No, I will! Since you asked, I will! Ahh, I'm so happy right now, it's strange…"

Ayato lowered his voice somewhat, as if someone might overhear him even though he was all alone. "Tell...Tell the same thing to Chichinashi, okay?"

Ayato heard Laito sniffle from over the phone. "Of course! We'll apply together." He took a deep breath to try and recompose himself. Apparently Ayato had caught him off-guard. "Speaking of which, you should be talking to her, not me. She's been missing you too."

"All...All right…" Ayato still wasn't sure if he was mentally prepared for that, but if Yui agreed to apply to the university too, he figured he could handle talking to her now.

He heard the sound of Laito and Yui's voices talking hurriedly on the other side of the phone. When Yui did get ahold of the phone, it was easy to tell she was crying. "Ayato…! Of course I'll apply! I want to go to school with you…!"

Ayato turned red immediately. "Hey…! Quit blubbering, I don't want my brothers to see you like that!"

"I can't help it...I'm really happy…! Because Ayato wanted to be with me…"

"Of course I did, stupid! You're practically…" Ayato felt his cheeks burn, and tried to lower his voice. "...all I could think about for the past few weeks. But don't go around telling people that."

"Ayato…! Me too! I was wondering why you wouldn't call sooner…"

"That's because...I thought if I heard your voice, I would want to go home." It was more than a little embarrassing to admit, but one way or another he had to get his feelings out.

Yui choked back a sob. "I love you so much...I'll come visit your campus during break, okay? And I'll apply and join you next year! I promise I'll study hard so I get accepted!"

"Stop crying already…I love you too. I'll see you soon."

"Really soon!" Yui tried to put on a more cheerful tone. "We'll catch up properly during break! You're doing great, Ayato! We're all proud of you!"

Those were her parting words, and she hung up. Ayato stared blankly ahead of him, feeling his face finally cool down. Next year would definitely be better.


	2. Chapter 2

The Mukami brothers had been together for a very long time. For them, life was dark and unsure before they met each other. They needed to be together and they associated being alone with being in danger. Even as they matured, being alone in that big house was uncomfortable. The idea of living there without their brothers was unthinkable.

That was what Azusa thought, anyway.

Ruki, apparently, didn't share his thoughts. But judging due to his unusual body language, he apparently had a sense of how Azusa felt. It was right at the beginning of spring break, and Ruki had just gotten home from a trip to the book store, and he had come down to the living room to address everyone after spending about an hour alone in his room. All of his brothers could tell he was deep in thought about something, but it was impossible to guess what that thing could be. While he was getting everyone's attention, he was rubbing his thumb into the palm of his left hand and looking at everybody just below eye level. Azusa could clearly tell he felt guilty about something.

"I decided," Ruki said in a lower voice than usual. "I'm going to go away to college too."

It felt as if a large bell had rung all of a sudden. It was silent, but it was impossible to tell because everyone was still reacting to the noise. Azusa shuddered.

Kou stared at Yuma. He had a blank expression on his face. "...Hm. Well, that suits Ruki after all."

Yuma was staring at his hands, his eyebrows furrowed as if he was mad at something. "Yeah. To tell you the truth, I kind of expected this to happen."

Kou nodded at him, and Ruki lowered his gaze even further. Azusa slowly stood up.

"I don't...understand. Are you leaving?" Azusa asked, looking to Ruki with wide eyes. He looked vulnerable and trusting, like he was positive Ruki wouldn't actually leave.

Ruki did not look at Azusa. He couldn't, because he knew Azusa would feel this way.

"I don't understand," he said again. "Why would...you leave? Ruki is...very smart, already."

Ruki took a deep breath, preparing to give his explanation. "...As I am now, I believe I have failed to prove myself as worthy of being Karl Heinz's son."

There was another unsettling silence. That sentence, of course, applied to everybody in the room.

"Seeing two of the Sakamaki brothers go off to college made me realize it. Even if I can't become Adam, I want to become worthy of Karl Heinz somehow. I think this might be the only way to do it."

Kou hummed under his breath again. "How noble."

Ruki stiffened slightly. Azusa didn't back down yet. "...I don't want you to," he said. "I don't...care about Karl Heinz, if it means you're going to leave-"

"Azusa," Ruki said in a low, serious voice, finally flashing his eyes in his direction. "Karl Heinz is the only reason any of us are alive right now. He's the reason we have a roof over our heads. Don't talk about him like that again."

"Give him a break," Yuma muttered, lifting his eyes to stare resentfully at Ruki. "He knows that. He just doesn't want to be separated from you."

"Ruki's right, though," Kou huffed. "There's no point getting upset over something like that. You should grow up a little."

Yuma was glaring daggers at Kou, but his voice was eeriely calm. "Shut the fuck up. Wanting to stay with your brothers isn't fucking childish. Don't ever talk to Azusa that way again."

It was rapidly turning into a volatile situation. Yuma only had that tone of voice when he was _really_ mad. Azusa was afraid they were going to get up and start throwing punches, and it was even scarier considering he didn't exactly know why they were angry at each other. He looked to Ruki, silently pleading him to stop them like he always did.

"He's like this because you keep babying him. It's Ruki's fault too. Maybe Ruki should've left sooner."

"You're acting like a real piece of shit. If anything, you're being too insensitive over this whole thing."

Kou started to raise his voice. "Don't try to put this on me. I didn't do anything! You're the one trying to pick a fight."

Ruki clasped his hands together, hanging his head. "I would like it if the three of you would go with me."

That stopped the fighting immediately. Kou and Yuma both turned to stare at Ruki with wide eyes.

"...Go with you?"

"As in, to college?"

"I'm sure we'll all be accepted because of Karl Heinz's influence. It's all right if you don't want to," Ruki said, still keeping his eyes low. "I think it would be good for our family if we went together. We would look better in Karl Heinz's eyes, and I also...love you all, and would rather stay together with you."

Yuma and Kou settled down and looked like they were thinking. They hadn't expected the mood to drop so fast.

"I don't know…" Kou muttered. "I don't need to go to college. I have a job."

A brief silence followed. Kou was right, but the other three didn't want to give up.

"I'll do it," Yuma mumbled, breaking the silence. "To tell you the truth, I...never thought I would have the chance to study at a university. Because of the way I was brought up."

"Me either," Azusa added quietly. Kou felt the same, but he stayed quiet.

"I think the fact that I have the opportunity to do it now is just another one of the gifts Karl Heinz has given me." Yuma looked up, a hard look in his eye. "So I'm going to give back to him however I can."

Azusa, of course, had already made up his mind, but he figured it was his turn to speak up now. "If Yuma and Ruki are going...of course I'll go too. You are all...my precious brothers, after all...So, I want Kou to go too."

Kou flinched, looking up at him weakly. "...Really? I just got finished saying…"

"Even if you think I'm childish...I don't want us...to be separated. Because, we've been together...for a long time, and like Ruki said...I love you all. So please...come with us, Kou."

Kou blinked at him, silent for a second, before starting to giggle. "Jeez...Azusa, you sure say some embarrassing stuff! It can't be helped, huh~ I guess your big brother has to go with you!"

Azusa and Yuma breathed a sigh of relief, and Ruki lifted his head. He stopped fidgeting with his hands and was able to look everyone in the eye again. "In that case, we'll have to start studying soon."

"...Studying?"

"The entrance exam will be much harder than the one we took to get into high school. Of course, we'll probably be accepted because of Karl Heinz's influence, but we can't be considered worthy of Karl Heinz if we just ride his coattails."

Kou groaned. "You guys have roped me into something difficult…"

"Kou," Azusa said, trying to encourage him. "If Ayato can make it...so can you."

"Gah…"

* * *

Yui, Laito, and Kanato were more often than not shut away in their own little study group. Before Ayato and Reiji came home for spring break, Shu and Subaru were the only ones _not_ involved in that study group.

The atmosphere had changed somewhat. Shu and Subaru usually kept to themselves and stayed out of sight, but knowing that everyone else was doing something in another part of the house felt lonely somehow. Especially because they knew that eventually, those three would leave the house too. Shu and Subaru would be the only two left.

That was fine. Subaru could deal with that. Subaru wanted to be left alone, and Shu was an expert at leaving people alone.

But the chattering from Laito's room pissed Subaru off. Subaru didn't realize this at the time, but he probably heard all the talking and he wanted to talk too. It was a constant reminder that they were leaving home soon. He wished those three would hurry up and leave already, so the house could go back to being quiet.

"It's stupid," Subaru grumbled to himself as he marched downstairs. Shu, who was lying on the sofa within hearing range, opened his eyes and glanced at him. "I keep hearing them talking about math formulas and stuff, it's the worst."

"Why don't you join them?" Shu suggested from the sofa. Subaru turned around and tried to look surprised that he had answered, but the truth was he had kind of been hoping that he would.

"Is that a joke? I don't have any interest in going to that school! I don't understand why _they're_ going!"

Shu averted his eyes, staring at the ceiling. "I think it's because...Ayato didn't want to be alone."

"Tch! That's stupid…"

Shu averted his eyes, staring up at the ceiling. "...Subaru, come sit here for a second."

Subaru hesitated. Shu reaching out to anybody was, it goes without saying, a very rare occurrence. But Subaru did as he said, and sat awkwardly by Shu's feet.

"Be honest with me. I won't tell anyone."

"All right…"

"Are you upset that everyone's leaving?"

Subaru's face immediately turned _crimson_ and he leapt right out of his seat. "Of - Of course not! What are you- What could you- Why would I be- That's stupid! I-I'm glad I'll finally get some peace and quiet in this damn place…!"

Shu sat up, and stared very seriously at him. "To tell you the truth, I am."

"D-Don't lump me in with you…!"

"Then, I won't. But let me tell you that I am upset. That's why I'm going to apply too."

Subaru froze up. "...Huh?"

"I don't really feel the need to go to college. But I…" Shu looked oddly distant and disconnected. "I've decided I don't want to lose any more people who are close to me. So if everyone decides to go to college, I will too. Even if they hate me and tell me to leave them alone, I'll still be nearby. That's what I decided."

Subaru stared incredulously at him. "...So, it looks like it's going to be me all alone in this house…"

Shu looked at him. "It's not like I can force you to come with me. You can do what you want."

It was scary. The idea of being alone here was scary. Even if Subaru never talked with his brothers often, the quiet sounds of daily life going on in the house were comforting when Subaru needed it. And if he were here alone, he'd probably have to see his father all the time - usually, Shu handled that. Subaru couldn't imagine being alone in this house, with his father breathing down his neck. It was _scary_.

"Ha...Haha...I will, then. It looks like I'll get even more alone time than I thought." Subaru was hanging his head, struggling to maintain a smile on his face. "That's good. I was just thinking about how shitty it would be with just the two of us." Suddenly he raised his voice to a shout. "You piece of shit! I'm glad you're leaving!" Then he spun around and stormed out of the room, back upstairs. A few seconds later, Shu could hear his door slam.

There was an awkward silence throughout the whole house, and then Yui peered into the living room and saw Shu sitting by himself. "Um, Shu…? Did something happen to Subaru?"

Shu looked listlessly at her. "No, nothing happened."

* * *

Ayato and Reiji came back home for spring break and proceeded to act like they owned the place. Reiji's first words upon walking through the door and being greeted by his brothers were as follows: "Just so you know, I'll only be here for a few days. I'm only checking up on you."

"Teddy…" Kanato mumbled. "Reiji hates us so much that he wants to spend his vacation at school...And he even told us that to our faces...How petty…"

"Yours Truly, on the other hand," Ayato pointed to himself with his thumb. "is gracing you with his presence for a whole week."

Yui cheered out loud when Ayato entered the room, and rushed to give him a hug. Ayato wrapped her up in his arms and buried his face in the crook of her neck, grinning from ear to ear. It was so cheesy and cute that nobody could even bear to look at it.

Yui, Laito, and Kanato had worked together to make lunch for everyone, as per Yui's request. She wanted to give Ayato a warm welcome home - Reiji too. While they were setting up plates, Reiji went upstairs to check for potential damage. The rest of them ate while Ayato shared his only half-true stories from college.

"Of course I went to lots of crazy parties. That's just what you gotta do when you're as popular as Yours Truly. I got sick of getting so many invitations. And of course I'm only getting the best grades too. It's only natural."

Laito hummed. "The three of us are up to our necks in textbooks. If we have to study this much just to get in, imagine how hard it'll be once we're actually there~...Ayato, I can't believe you did all this on your own."

Ayato frowned, taking a sip of his drink. "Chichinashi helped me, though."

"Wow, that's probably the most humble thing you've said in your entire life. But Bitch-chan sure is smart, huh~"

"Eh? No, no…" Yui dismissed the claim, fidgeting in her seat. "Ayato did all the hard work."

"Please don't deny things that you know are true," Kanato told her brusquely. "It's so fake."

"Haha! Kanato's exactly as harsh as I remembered him," Ayato laughed.

Subaru, who had been permanently holed up in his room since his last encounter with Shu, attempted to slip out of the room and go back upstairs. Shu grabbed his shirt before he could make his escape.

"Hey Ayato." Shu pointed at Subaru. "Do you want this guy to apply too?"

"Wha- Hey! Let me go-!"

Ayato looked incredulously at Shu and Subaru. Truthfully, he did want Subaru to apply too, since Subaru had always been easy to be around and Subaru never ignored him. But he had decided not to ask Subaru to apply, since he was absolutely positive that Subaru would refuse and it would be embarrassing for both parties involved.

Ayato observed Subaru for a moment, who was clearly flustered at all the attention. "...Subaru, would you apply too?"

Subaru tensed up. "What?"

Ayato smiled lopsidedly and shrugged, trying to pass it off like it was no big deal. "I think college would be much more interesting with you."

"Y-You…!"

"Then apply with us, Subaru. You want Yui to tutor you too, right?" Shu looked up at him, staring straight into his eyes. Subaru looked from him, to Ayato, to Yui, back to Shu.

Laito picked up on what was going on and immediately joined in. "We can't leave our cute little brother alone, right? Hey, hey, Subaru, apply with us!"

"Being the only one to not apply would be embarrassing, right, Teddy?"

"Agh, damn it!" Subaru had gone red again. "I get it, I'll do it, so let me go!"

Laito and Yui looked very pleased with this new turn of events, and Shu finally let go of Subaru's shirt. He muttered "thank you" under his breath, but Subaru most likely didn't hear it because he was already stomping his way upstairs.


	3. Chapter 3

**(A/N: Text messages conversations are in italics. They might lack proper capitalization or punctuation. This is on purpose. Thank you!)**

* * *

There was never any question that all the Sakamakis and Mukamis would be accepted into the university, because after all, they had a very rich and influential father. Plus, Yui was a really good teacher. She was patient and good at understanding other people's learning styles, and she managed to train Subaru out of his chant-stuff-to-memorize-it technique. So everyone got accepted, and a few months before the start of the next year they were supposed to receive contact information for their roommates over email. (At first each of the brothers wanted single-person dorms, but Ayato warned them against it, claiming that choosing a single-person dorm was the worst mistake he had made in college. Somehow, they thought he must have had worse mistakes than that, but that's neither here nor there).

Shu received that email while he and Subaru were packing up old clothes. No one would be living at that house anymore, so they were putting all their old clothes and belongings into boxes and putting them in the basement. Subaru had wanted to just throw them away, but Shu refused to let him do that, and he was prepared to pack all of them away himself if he had to. Subaru was starting to get the impression that Shu was a very sentimental person.

Anyway, they were in the middle of going through Kanato's closet when Shu got that email. He paused to check it, and he couldn't help but laugh when he saw it, but it was a hollow and sort of sarcastic laugh. "What is it?" Subaru asked, somewhat annoyed that Shu had stopped working to check his phone.

"Did you find out who your roommate is yet?"

"Yeah, just some stranger…?" Subaru's voice picked up at the end, as if he were asking a question. He wasn't sure what that had to do with anything.

Shu showed Subaru the screen of his phone, currently displaying the email with Shu's roommate's contact information. Subaru squinted at it. The name of Shu's roommate was Yuma Mukami.

"Hah! I can't decide if you're extremely lucky or unlucky."

"Why did I have to get him of all people…? Or rather, I didn't even know he was applying…"

"Well," Subaru thought aloud. "Maybe it's a good thing. You don't have to get a read on some stranger's personality."

"I've already had to get a read on Yuma's personality two separate times…" Shu sighed. Subaru cocked his head, not understanding what he meant by that. "Ah, I knew Yuma before any of you met him. When we were kids."

"...Huh?! Really? Why didn't you say anything to us?"

Shu shrugged. "No reason to."

"Did he recognize you?"

"No, he lost his memory. He knows what happened now, though I don't think he actually got his memory back." Shu didn't look at Subaru. He clearly didn't want to go into detail.

"...Ah." Subaru still had a puzzled look on his face. "Living together with him might be rough, then…"

"Mm." Shu felt his phone buzz - Yuma must've decided to put the contact info he got to use. Well, he was going to have to confront him eventually...The text he received said: " _you applied too?_ "

Shu responded very simply in the affirmative. " _Yep_ "

" _but youre a NEET!_ "

Shu didn't quite know how to respond to that, and he wasn't that comfortable with Yuma yet, so he decided to put his phone away and get back to work. Yuma wasn't going to let him out of the conversation that easily, though: a few minutes later, his phone buzzed again.

" _well, this might be good. if it's you, I don't have to worry about setting ground rules._ "

Shu responded curtly, " _You're welcome_ "

A brief moment passed, in which Shu guessed Yuma was trying to gauge the sarcasm level of that text. After Yuma presumably understood that it was sarcastic, he replied, " _let's get along._ "

In retrospect, it was probably a normal thing to say to someone who was about to become your roommate. Yet Shu immediately started to overanalyze it: _I irritated him, he wants to end the conversation, he really just means "Let's stay out of each other's ways"_...Shu had sent a total of two messages, three words in total and he was already stressed out. Of course, he didn't want to reply, and any reply he could've given was embarrassing, so he put his phone back in his pocket and made up his mind to leave that conversation where it was.

But it was still weighing on his mind. Yuma really didn't seem like the type of guy to have any ulterior motives, especially with a message as stupidly simple as "let's get along", and it would make Shu look ridiculously bad if he couldn't even accept a peace treaty as small as that. Hours passed, Shu and Subaru finished packing up their stuff and loading it all in the basement. Laito, Kanato, and Yui had pitched in later on and helped them as well, so it went by pretty fast. The sun was going to rise soon, so everyone went off to bed - Shu slept in the living room rather than his bedroom, as per usual. He felt better there, like he could keep an eye on everyone. But today he was having trouble falling asleep, all because of this one stupid message. He was fully aware that he was being ridiculous, but he couldn't stop weighing the pros and cons of responding in his mind.

At this point, Yuma definitely wasn't expecting a response, since it had already been hours, but Shu was so frustrated with himself at this point that he decided to just do it. He pulled out his phone and typed out the message, reread it over and over again, and finally sent it.

" _Yeah, let's get along_ "

Yuma didn't respond. He was probably asleep.

* * *

About a week before classes officially started, everyone moved into their dorms. All the Sakamakis seemed in pretty high spirits about it, since it meant a change of scenery. Subaru, on the other hand, looked sick to his stomach about the whole thing. Of course, it would have been much worse if he had stayed home, but the idea of going to an entirely new school and sharing a room with some stranger made him anxious. Yui sat next to him on the car ride there, and tapped his shoulder a few times to make sure he was okay.

Since it was super obvious that Subaru was nervous, Shu's brotherly instincts kicked in and he stayed with him after everyone else split up to head for their dorms. Subaru thought it was embarrassing, but he was secretly thankful for it. They grabbed a map while picking up their keys, and the two of them worked out where their dorms were and where their classes were. They didn't share any classes, since Shu was majoring in music and Subaru was undeclared with no musical talents to speak of. Subaru did have a literature class that happened to be in the music building, though, so the two of them would end up seeing each other quite a bit.

Shu offered to walk Subaru to his dorm too, but Subaru adamantly told him that he could go there on his own. Walking throughout campus on his own was exactly as nerve-wracking as he thought it would be, though. Everyone seemed to be used to the place except for him, and (though he knew he was just being paranoid) every time he heard someone laugh, he thought they were laughing at him. He did find his room without any problems, though, and he had gotten there before his roommate. He decided on his own to take the bed opposite the window rather than the one closest to it, since his roommate wasn't here to object.

His roommate showed up when Subaru was in the middle of unpacking. The door opened and Subaru froze, looking towards it. The boy who entered the room looked a bit older than Subaru, and a bit taller, but when he saw Subaru he immediately put on a huge smile. "Hey, you must be Subaru! I was looking forward to seeing you."

"A-Ah...Hello," he replied awkwardly.

The smile did not make Subaru feel any better. In fact, Subaru only felt more nervous since this guy seemed like such an extrovert. He enthusiastically shook Subaru's hand and, Subaru noticed, seemed to be inspecting him closely. He kept looking him up and down - it was making Subaru uncomfortable.

"To tell you the truth," the boy said, his voice lowering somewhat. "I already know who you are."

Subaru was sure he had never seen this guy in his life. "Um…?"

"I believe you were a friend of my little brother's, in high school."

Well, that was impossible. Subaru had exactly zero friends in high school. The only person that could even come close to being called his friend was Kou, and he would call him an acquaintance.

"He was a freshman, in your class. He told me all about you." His smile looked a little darker now. "You guys got in a fight, and you broke his arm."

Subaru tensed up. He did remember that. The boy in question had made a few comments about Subaru's mother, and that was a very touchy subject for Subaru, so they had gotten into a fight and Subaru left the kid with a bloody nose and broken arm. Well, this was not going anywhere good. He had to do something, anything, to defuse the situation or get out of there-

Before he could even finish that thought, the boy put his hands on Subaru's chest and shoved him against the wall. Subaru grunted and squeezed his eyes shut during the impact, and when he opened them he saw that the boy's face was frighteningly close to his, making it impossible for him to escape.

"I've been waiting to get my hands on you for a while, you piece of shit. I'm going to pay you back for my brother."

Subaru grit his teeth, bracing himself for pain. He did not have to wait for long; the boy punched Subaru in the stomach, making Subaru double over and groan. If Subaru had been feeling sick before, he was feeling twice as sick now. Adrenaline kicked in, and he was gripped with the desire to hit him back. Subaru attempted to restrain himself and not immediately resort to violence - the boy punched him in the face next, slicing the side of Subaru's lip on his fangs.

Now he couldn't hold himself back.

Subaru grabbed the boy's shirt collar and slammed him against the wall. He was yelling something at him, but Subaru was deafened by anger. He threw his fist at his face over and over, barely hearing the shouts to stop, till he felt blood dripping down his knuckles.

Then, he felt two hands grab his wrist.

He glanced behind him, almost unable to see straight due to anger. The blurry picture of Ayato was staring back at him, holding onto his arm to prevent him from beating the boy any further.

"Jeez, you're mad," Ayato pointed out, vastly underestimating the gravity of the situation. "What'd this guy do?"

Subaru was shaking, clinging to the boy's shirt collar with his right hand and keeping his dominant, blood-stained left hand in a tight fist. His mind was too fuzzy and loud to think of an answer, and he couldn't get any sounds past his lips anyway. He slowly moved his eyes from Ayato to the boy he had just been beating up, and noticed that his face was a bloody mess and he had clearly lost consciousness long ago. Subaru felt scared of himself.

He had done it now. Not even three minutes into college life and he had ruined it forever. His next roommate would surely find out about this and think he was a monster; same with the school and all of his teachers. He would be treated like a freak, because he was one. Hell, he would probably be arrested. He deserved it. If there was one thing he deserved, it was being locked up in a dark cell far away from everyone else, totally ostracized from society, because he was such a fucking monster he was a danger to everyone-

"Hey!" Ayato shook his arm, waking Subaru from his self-hating trance. "Don't go spacing out on me. What did this guy do to you?"

To him? Well, nothing. Nothing that Subaru could remember, anyway. So Subaru answered, his voice trembling: "Nothing."

"Don't mess with me. You're bleeding too."

Oh, yeah, that's right. Subaru felt the side of his mouth stinging, and blood dripping down his chin.

Ayato went on, still holding onto Subaru's wrist to prevent him from punching anything else. "That's why I asked you what he did. 'Cause you don't just go around picking fights for the hell of it. You're lucky I came by and saw your door was open. If he did something bad, I can help you finish the job-"

Subaru slowly released the boy's shirt, and his body slumped to the floor. "Ayato." He was still shaking badly, and it was hard for him to speak. "I think I want to go home."

"What? No, that's stupid."

"I already...m-messed up really bad. Everyone's gonna...know, and they're gonna hate me."

Ayato stared at him, unable to look him in the eyes since Subaru was hanging his head. It was just now occurring to him that Subaru probably grew his bangs out just to hide his face in situations like these.

"I have to...I have to go home. I'm no good for this-"

"Well then be my roommate from now on," Ayato said, as if he were making the decision for him.

"What…?"

"We'll take care of that guy and make sure he doesn't tell anyone. And I'll move in with you, and I can help clean up whatever messes you make from now on. And no one will screw with you because your cool big brother is around."

"Sh-Shut up…! That's never going to work!"

"Subaru," Ayato gripped Subaru's wrist even tighter. "Don't drop out."

Subaru went silent, unsure how to respond to such an earnest request. It was Yui's turn to poke her head through the open door, and she squeaked when she saw the scene that was currently playing out. "Oh my gosh! What's going on?!"

"Chichinashi, perfect timing! We might need some help getting rid of this guy."

Subaru spluttered, "Hold, hold on-"

"I guess it would be bad to just kill him, and I don't want to suck his blood either. Since I'm a married man, after all. I'm guessing you don't want it either, Subaru."

"Well, no, but that's not-"

"Then we just have to drop his body off somewhere. And if he comes back or complains to the school, we'll just pretend we never saw him in our lives! They'll think he's remembering it wrong 'cause he got hit in the face so many times. It's foolproof. I'm a genius."

Yui had tiptoed her way into the room, and she had gathered enough context clues to realize what had happened. "Oh, Subaru, it'll be okay," she said softly, clearly sensing how frightened Subaru was.

"Shut up! I don't need you to tell me that!"

"Chichinashi," Ayato perked up, grinning at her. "Subaru and I are going to be roommates from now on."

"Oh, that's great!"

"It's not great!" Subaru objected.

"It is!" Yui clasped her hands together. "Now Ayato won't be alone, and you'll both be able to stay close to your brother. I think you'll make a great pair!"

Subaru realized Ayato still had a hold on his wrist, and he shook him off. "Don't lump me together with him!"

Ayato and Yui ignored his protests, acting as if the matter was decided. "Then, Chichinashi, you go run to the store and get some bleach and maybe some extra towels. Subaru and Yours Truly will handle the dirty work."

"Roger!"

And that was that. Ayato and Subaru were roommates from then on.


	4. Chapter 4

**(A/N: For the next few chapters, I'm gonna start off at the beginning of the semester and then skip forward a bit to give some insight on their interactions once their college life has actually started. Sorry if it's confusing! Anyway this chapter gets gAY so please don't read it if you're just gonna get angry at me for it later)**

* * *

Shu stood in front of his dorm for a while, staring at the door. Occasionally he lifted his hand towards the doorknob before hesitating and lowering it again. He really, truly didn't want to deal with his roommate, and he would much rather avoid all confrontation and just go find someplace else to sleep. The whole ordeal seemed like it would be stressful and bring up lots of bad memories. Eventually, though, he took a deep breath to calm his nerves and opened the door.

The room was small, only really consisting of two beds and a bathroom, and it was more or less empty except for a few bags propped up against one of the beds, and the owner of those bags sitting on the floor and studying his schedule. He looked up and their eyes met - Shu saw the face that was so familiar to him, the brown eyes that belonged to his oldest dearest friend, staring back at him as if he were a stranger. Shu was seized with anxiety all at once, completely unsure of how to act around him. Should he act as if they were old friends? Should he assume Yuma hated him now? Should he do as he usually did, and just stay out of his way and avoid talking to him at all? That seemed like the safest option, but not even greeting him might just make him angry...

Yuma must have noticed how unnerved he looked, so he made the decision for him. He gestured to the room. "Welcome, Your Majesty, to your new castle," he said in a dry, somewhat sarcastic tone.

Yuma was trying to make a joke. The pressure was on now. Shu replicated his tone as he surveyed the room. "Ah, yes, tis a quaint little place. But it's a little small - how will we ever fit our two hundred handmaidens in here?"

Yuma hadn't expected Shu to do so well with that comeback, so he actually laughed out loud. He spoke in his usual rough dialect now. "Aw man, you're a real aristocrat after all." Yuma pointed at him, or more specifically to his single backpack. "But I thought a genuine aristocrat like you would have tons of luggage and stuff."

Shu shrugged. "I have a toothbrush, and some clothes…"

Yuma shoved his schedule back in his own backpack. "But really, what do you think of the place?"

Shu walked over and sat on the bed that Yuma wasn't leaning on. He shrugged that off, too. "I don't know."

"I think the shower is super small," he sighed. Being 6'2 must be tough. "But I'll manage. It's kind of empty in here, too. I dunno, it needs something…"

Shu went silent, taking his backpack off. He wasn't really one for long conversations. Or conversations of an average length. Or short conversations, really. Besides, he felt like he was walking on thin ice with Yuma. He wasn't fully aware of it yet, but for some reason he really didn't want to say anything to make Yuma hate him.

Yuma, on the other hand, didn't like sitting in silence. "I said earlier that I didn't have to worry about ground rules, but do you have any?"

"I didn't really understand what you meant by ground rules."

"You know - I wouldn't want a roommate who smokes indoors or brings girls home without telling me."

Shu smiled faintly. "And you don't think I would do those things?"

"Well...would you?"

Shu laid down on the bed. "No."

"See, I told you. I know more about you than you think." Yuma smiled. "Or, maybe you're just predictable."

"Ha ha."

From then on, he and Yuma were roommates.

After living together for some time, Shu and Yuma kind of got the sense that they had conflicting personalities. Yuma was a person who wasn't comfortable unless he was working on something, and Shu was a person who would rather just remain passive. Shu decided that they were no longer compatible as friends, and while that was a horribly depressing thought, he thought he would be okay as long as he knew that Yuma was safe and alive. Yuma did not share this thought, and the fact that he knew that he was friends with Shu in the past encouraged him to reach out to Shu whenever possible. Even if he was just talking _at_ him, at least they were talking at all. And he tried his best not to get mad when Shu was unresponsive. Gradually, they got much more comfortable with each other.

Shu caught himself being interested in Yuma's day-to-day life, because all of it reminded him of when they were kids. He really hadn't changed at all. All of his mannerisms and body language were familiar to the point of being comforting. The only non-comforting part was seeing him shirtless, which Shu had the opportunity to do twice a day, after Yuma showered and as he was getting dressed for school. The reason this was a bad experience for Shu was because Yuma still had scars and bruises standing out on his brown skin, particularly on his shoulder, and Shu knew where those scars and bruises came from. It hurt to look at, just a little.

Yuma eventually tackled the problem of the room being too empty. He came home one day with a shopping bag that he immediately started to unpack it. He pulled out a pot, like one that you would grow plants in, and he pointed to it. "Is it okay if I keep some plants in here?"

Shu had been studying some sheet music, but admittedly he had stopped when Yuma entered the room, because Yuma was much more interesting to look at. "It's okay. But can it survive in here? We always keep the curtains shut."

"Then I'll keep it on the other side of the curtain during the daytime."

Thus began Yuma's agricultural takeover of their dorm room. He collected potted plants to the point where they would sit in each corner of the room, usually in groups, and he would spend lots of time each day tending to them. Shu got to watch him treat something very gently, with a lot of focus and care. Shu got to see Yuma's eyes zone out while he was going through the motions, and he noticed how large his hands were. It was calming to watch, somehow.

Shu was a music major and he had violin pieces that he needed to learn and practice. He had been leaving the dorm each day to practice, in order to avoid pissing his roommate off, because he would much rather avoid all conflict with him. One day, after a full day of classes and homework, Shu was in the middle of secretly watching Yuma tend to his plants when he noticed that Yuma seemed awfully tired and stressed out, for whatever reason. Shu took that as his cue to leave. He grabbed his violin case and headed for the door, planning on going to the music building to find a place to practice.

Yuma's voice made him freeze. "Wait."

Shu did as instructed, and paused mid-stride and looked at him.

"Where are you going?"

He lifted his violin case slightly. "To practice…"

Yuma set a pot aside and sat down on the ground, leaning against the wall. "Do it in here for once. I've never heard it."

Shu hesitated. "I don't know."

"I've had a godawful day. Practice here. I want to hear you play."

Shu walked back to his bed, and set his case down. He opened it and started tuning. "It'll be annoying."

Yuma was already trying his best to space out. "It won't be annoying. Besides, classical music is supposed to be good for plants."

Shu carefully placed the bow to the strings, and started playing. The soft sound of music filled the room.

Actually, Yuma had heard Shu play before, when he was still Edgar. Shu had snuck his violin out of the house specifically because Edgar had told him that he wanted to hear him play. If Mother had found out, she would have been furious that he had taken the violin to such a dirty place, but Shu was willing to risk it. Shu had given Edgar a private concert in the woods outside the mansion, and Edgar had absolutely no concept of how to play violin or how good it sounded, but he had applauded wildly at the end. Shu was hitting wrong notes all over the place, since he was only just learning at the time, but Edgar still demanded an encore. It was one of the first times Edgar tried to take a glimpse into Shu's world, and he could tell at that point that he didn't fit in, but he cheered him on regardless. Yuma in the present, of course, could not remember this. To him, this was the first time he had heard Shu play.

Because he was aware of that, Shu played with extra care. This time, he thought, he would give Yuma a much better first performance. This was his second chance, and this time he would really impress him. He was so focused on not messing up that his hands were shaking slightly. He wanted to look at Yuma - he couldn't stop imagining his face, wondering what kind of expression he had, if he looked satisfied with the music. But he wouldn't let himself look at him, at risk that he would mess up. He didn't want to look up and meet his eyes again, because he knew that his hands would stop moving altogether.

So he kept his eyes pointed downwards till the song was over. When the last note faded out in a decrescendo, he lowered the arm carrying the bow, and he looked up at Yuma, tensed up from anticipation.

Yuma was leaning his head against the wall, his eyes shut and his mouth half-open, breathing deeply. Shu's performance had lulled him to sleep, and the exhausted and stressed expression was totally gone from his face.

Shu stared at him in surprise for a while, then laughed quietly to himself. In retrospect, he deserved this for all the times he had fallen asleep while someone else was trying to talk to him. Shu set his violin down on the bed and got up. He grabbed a blanket from Yuma's bed and knelt down next to him, and carefully placed the blanket over him so Yuma could stay there and get the sleep he clearly needed. While he was positioning the blanket, Shu looked up and got a very close look at Yuma's sleeping face.

Shu felt a rush of affection in his chest. He paused there for a moment, studying his face. Shu's eyes lingered on Yuma's long eyelashes, and his parted lips. He listened to the sound of him breathing rhythmically. It was almost painful. He had been trying to keep his distance from Yuma, and yet...

Shu didn't have much more time to dwell on that thought, because Yuma's eyes fluttered open. Still not fully conscious, his brown eyes attempted to register Shu's face, but were still glossy and blank and didn't seem to recognize him. Shu seized up in fear - he had just been caught with his face mere inches away from Yuma's, while he was sleeping. It was only a matter of time before Yuma reacted, and Shu wouldn't be surprised (and he wouldn't even blame him) if Yuma jumped straight to punching him in the face. As a result, Shu braced himself.

Yuma was still too sleepy to even realize what was going on. His voice came out in a mumble, still not completely separated from his dreamy state. "...What're you doing…?"

Shu could not think of a single thing he could do to save him from this situation. He inched backwards a little bit, and tried his hardest to act innocent.

"I just...You fell asleep, so I...was putting a blanket over you."

As if God were playing some kind of cruel trick on Shu, Yuma laughed airily in response to his flimsy excuse, and rubbed one eye sleepily. "You're actually pretty nice, Shu."

Shu blinked at him. "No...You'd do the same."

"If it were you, maybe."

Shu swallowed hard, feeling more and more nervous with every word Yuma spoke. "You should go to sleep in your bed rather than on the floor."

"I'm already comfortable here." Yuma's eyes weren't focused, like he was thinking about something else. "...This feels nostalgic. Have we done this before?"

Shu blinked fast. "...Err…"

He perked up a little. "Yeah, I remember. We were out in the woods and I fell asleep, and you woke me up in the same way."

Shu was stunned. "You remember that?"

"Do _you_?"

Well, of course he did. Shu had vivid memories of his days with Edgar - some of which he had attempted to push out of his memory, but to no avail.

"...I do."

"From what I remember, you were such a nice kid back then." He added, jokingly: "What happened?"

Shu knew very well that he was joking, but the truth of the statement stung a little. Shu knew exactly what had happened to cause that change within him. Shu changed when Edgar left. When Edgar died, Shu had made the conscious decision to put up a wall around himself. He froze himself. He distanced himself emotionally from everyone else.

Because Shu had loved Edgar.

"Go to sleep, stupid," Shu said, his voice almost a whisper.

"G'night, Shu…"

As Yuma drifted back off to sleep, Shu returned to his bed and picked up his violin again. He raised the bow to playing position, but didn't produce any sound. Somehow, he had lost the will to play at the moment. His limbs felt stiff, as if they still hadn't thawed out from the ice they were frozen in.


End file.
